Wrathall Takes Silverstone Win To Maintain Title Push

Frank Wrathall took a hard fought victory in round 18 of the 2010 Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup to close the gap at the top of the standings to just ten points. Wrathall was clearly determined to get the better of Breeze to win, passing his title rival early on before holding out to win, made even better by the fact he spent much of the race holding on to a opening right hand door.

With all the pre-race focus on Breeze and Wrathall, it was Chris Dittmann who swept in un-noticed to take his first pole position of the season for the race. Total Control Racing's Breeze completed the front row, with Dynojet's Wrathall close behind in third. Century Motorsport's Benji Hetherington completed row two, with Dan Denis and Phil Broad on row three.

There was to be heartbreak for Dittmann though, with the driver having to pit at the end of the assembly lap with problems. Soon diagnosed as a broken driveshaft, Dittmann was forced to retire, preventing him taking his place at the front of the grid.

This left Breeze with clean air ahead of him and he took full advantage, leading the field into Copse for the first time, with Hetherington getting the jump at the start for second, with Wrathall slotting into third.

Wrathall quickly went on the offensive to regain his place, getting past Hetherington at Becketts on lap two, before setting off in pursuit of Breeze.

Behind, battles were emerging at the edge of the podium places, with Denis, Mark Davies and Broad battling hard for fourth. Davies had the toughest job, trying to attack Denis while also defending from behind and lost out on lap four, Broad moving past at Luffield for fifth.

At the back of the pack, championship newcomer Ben Jackson was enjoying a solid run in his Barwell Motorsport G50, before a power steering issue forced a premature end to his debut race on lap six.

At the front meanwhile, Wrathall's charge on Breeze was put on hold for a few laps as he had to defend hard from a battling Hetherington. He managed to shake off his attentions and went back on the offensive, setting the fastest lap of the race as he latched on to Breeze's bootlid.

Wrathall made his move on lap 10. After pressuring Breeze through Copse, Wrathall took his chance at Becketts, unsettling Breeze with some slight contact before sliding down the inside.

Wrathall quickly edged away, with Breeze coming under threat for second place from Hetherington. He defended well and held his place until the end, with the top five remaining unchanged throughout the rest of the 22 lap race.

This meant it was Wrathall who took the chequered flag, 1.6 seconds ahead of Breeze. Hetherington came home a solid third, his sixth podium of the season, while Denis finished fourth, his best result in the series. Broad held on to fifth ahead of Davies, with Adam Morgan seventh. Aaron Williamson finished a superb eighth after working his way through the field from 16th on the grid, with Colin White ninth, taking the Chairmans Cup honours in the process, and Tom Sharp tenth. Guest driver for the weekend was Giles Dawson, who finished a solid 14th in his first ever race on slick tyres.